Modular LAA Implant Docking Station with Detachable Active Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
The development of safe and effective in-situ heart implants for the left atrial appendage (LAA) is challenging due to the limited space within the beating heart, and existing devices often interfere with heart function.
Innovation Solution
A modular heart treatment/sensing device is implanted in the LAA, comprising a docking station anchored to the LAA wall and a modular active element that can be detached and replaced, allowing for various treatment or sensing operations without affecting heart function.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a heart treatment/sensing device is implanted in the left atrial appendage, then additional space is created for treatment or monitoring apparatus, but the limited space within the beating heart makes safe and effective implantation challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The modular active element is nested within the docking station's recessed conduit, allowing the treatment or sensing device to be housed within the anchored docking station structure. This nesting approach maximizes space utilization within the LAA while maintaining structural integrity and safety of the implantation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into two separate components: a docking station that remains anchored in the LAA and a modular active element that can be detached and replaced. This segmentation allows the docking station to provide stable anchoring and space creation, while the modular element can be optimized for specific treatment or sensing functions without compromising overall implantation safety.
2Reliability
If existing LAA implant devices are used to treat tissue and change electrical properties, then atrial fibrillation can be inhibited or prevented, but the devices interfere with heart function due to limited space within the beating heart
Solution Approach 1:
The modular active element can be completely removed from the docking station and replaced with a different element. This extraction capability allows the treatment function to be performed when needed, then removed to eliminate interference with normal heart function during non-treatment periods, while the docking station remains as a minimal interference anchor point.
Solution Approach 2:
The device transitions from a static implant to a dynamic system where the modular active element can be attached, activated, deactivated, and removed. This dynamic configuration allows the device to adapt between treatment mode (when the element is attached and active) and normal heart function mode (when the element is removed), minimizing interference with heart function.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a modular active element is designed for detachable engagement in a recessed conduit, then modular adjustment and replacement is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The docking station is designed as a universal platform with a standardized recessed conduit that can accommodate different types of modular active elements. This universality allows the same docking station structure to work with various treatment or sensing elements, reducing overall system complexity through standardization while maintaining high adaptability.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 1E~1F
AI summary
A device for implantation in a left atrial appendage of the heart comprises docking station comprising a radially expansible element that is adjustable between a contracted orientation suitable for transluminal delivery and a deployed orientation configured to anchor within the left atrial appendage and fluidically isolate the left atrial appendage from the left atrium. the docking station also includes a recessed socket accessible from the left atrium through an opening, and a closure coving the opening. A modular active element is configured for detachable engagement within the recessed socket of the docking station. The modular active element comprises a treatment element configured to electrically stimulate heart tissue, thermally stimulate heart tissue, electroporate heart tissue, or deliver a substance into heart tissue or a chamber of the heart, or a sensing element configured to detect a parameter selected from temperature, pressure, electrical signal, heart rate, or respiratory rate.